Counting Down, and Some Real In-Utero Interaction!

I just read an article on BabyCenter about "mamakus," six-word memoirs of motherhood. How about this:

Baby coming -- packing -- oops, more laundry.

Today is a laundry day, and much of it is baby stuff I've dragged out of storage, purchased, or gotten back from those who had borrowed it. Washfest. I got DH to put together the changing table (please understand -- I'm a perfectly handy person myself, but everything is twice as hard with this monster belly, so I get help where I can), so I have a place to store some of the mountain of baby wash that's already done. More exciting is the first wash for the Menschkin baby blanket, which I finally finished! Pictures when it's washed and blocked. Maybe a pattern later on -- I invented a nice border.

Now, anybody want to start a pool on what day I will actually pack my suitcase for the hospital, now that I have 3.5 weeks to go to my due date? This is proving difficult to start. At least now I have a list, having compared a couple of lists of suggestions on what to pack. Maybe today, after my things are clean, it will be easier to get it done. But I have a knitting circle at my place tonight, so maybe tomorrow...

The real excitement lately was a bit of honest-to-goodness, two-way interaction with DS-on-the-way last night. He was doing his usual stretches, pushing a foot waaaay out on my right side while I lay on my left. I decided to see if I could feel the shape of the foot or which way the toes were pointing. Not only could I feel those things, but he seemed to enjoy the little foot massage! Normally he pulls his foot back in after a couple of seconds, but when I was rubbing in little circles to check out his foot, he left it pushed out for 30 seconds or more.

There are lots of ways a pregnant mom can communicate TO her baby-inside. There are a few ways the baby-inside can communicate to the mom. But this is the first example I can remember of a two-way interaction where I was pretty sure I knew what was going on. Loud music and he kicks? I can't really tell if that's enjoyment or distress. But this seemed much clearer. I just lay there with a big grin on my face, rubbing that little foot, until he got tired of the game and went back to sleep. I wonder if he'll enjoy foot massages after he comes out.